John Barleycorn Must Die

some chill guitar vibes no?

Nice length of album, some songs a bit repetitive but overall a fun listen

Short and sweet

Good rock and roll. I like this band.

I liked this album quite a lot. I had heard of Traffic but I’m not sure I’d ever actually listened closely to any of their music. My favorite parts were the jazz improv parts of “Glad” and “Freedom Rider”, and honestly after “Glad” I was disappointed to hear Steve Winwood’s voice, which to me personally is the weakest part of the whole thing. If I could do half stars this would be 3.5 but since I can’t I’m rounding up to 4 in this case. Would listen to more jazz-rock in the future.

Pretty good bluesy rock album. Gets better towards the end.

Good

Nicely progresses from jazzy smooth jam session to rock/jazz fusion with organ looming to acoustic folk storytelling. Empty Pages, glad, every mother’s son.

"John Barleycorn Must Die" is the fourth studio album by Traffic -- released in 1970. It is described as progressive/folk/jazz rock. There are 6 songs on this album, 2 of which are about 4 minutes long, and the rest around 6 or 7 minutes, which I believe means each track will tell a story. And who is John Barleycorn? He is "a personification of the important cereal crop barley and of the alcoholic beverages made from it, beer and whisky," derived from an English folk song. Intriguing... This album opens with "Glad," a jazzy, pianoy, upbeat instrumental song. Lots of saxophone, organ, and piano going on here. This track is the only instrumental on the album, a great primer for this LP. Track number 2, "Freedom Rider," opens with more piano and saxophone, leading to Steve Winwood's smooth, high-tenor vocals, as he sings about cool things like lightning and motorcycles. Ride on, baby! The third track, "Empty Pages," features more piano and organ work, with a popping bass guitar and jazzy percussion. Winwood goes on about the woes of writer's block: "Staring at empty pages Centered 'round the same old plot Staring at empty pages Flowing along in the ages" A true joy (/s) of any writer's life! "Stranger to Himself" is track number 4, and is the shortest on the album at 4 minutes and 2 seconds. This track is poppy and has a really fun guitar/piano solo (duo?). Perhaps I'm projecting a bit onto this song, but the lyrics really strike a chord with and I feel compelled to lay the entire (short) set of words here: [Verse 1] Struggling with confusion, disillusionment too Can turn a man into a shadow, crying out from pain [Chorus] Through his nightmare vision, he sees nothing, only well Blind with the beggar's mind, he's but a stranger He's but a stranger to himself [Verse 2] Suspended from a rope inside a bucket down a hole His hands are torn and bloodied from the scratching at his soul I really dig it. Track 5, the titular "John Barleycorn (Must Die)" features a soothing acoustic guitar paired with Winwood's voice as he sings us the tale of 3 men who make an agreement that John Barleycorn must die. This is a cover song and it's quite fun. There is some great flute and tambourine work going on here. "Every Mother's Son" is the closing track on this album, and at 7 minutes and 5 seconds, it's the longest. More piano and organ work build this song up, with an electric guitar vibing with Winwood's vocals: "I'm a traveling soul and every mother's son Although I'm getting tired I've got to travel on Can you please help, my god? Can you please help, my god? Can you please help, my god? I think it's only fair" ...Did I write this? This album was a pleasant surprise. I really enjoy the little stories Traffic tells within their folklore, and the instrumentation is very easy-listening. Their lyrics are familiar and relatable, and Winwood's Ray Charles-inspired vocals are truly enjoyable. Nice work! Favorite track: Stranger to Himself Honorable mention: Every Mother's Son

A refreshingly brilliant album, wonderful songwriting and musicianship and Steve Winwood’s vocals are just lovely. Will revisit this and explore more of their catalog

Good

Pretty solid folk rock sound. I like Steve Winwood.

Nice mix of rock and folk, pretty short album, but Empty Pages and John Barleycorn are good songs.

Short but good. Nice find

meh. not bad, but is been too long. i dont really remember it.

Love Traffic and this is my favorite.

.

lekkere muziek. Waar om vaker naar te luisteren

Toques de jazz y de folk. Muy buen disco aunque cuesta entrar

ok

Oh yeah, I can listen to this. This jazz flute-ing, guitar riffing, hippy rock is my jam.

Always loved this record. Got a lot of elements of what I love from rock from this era.

Funky.

Pretty dope

No comments

Not a bad album.

Fun! Great 60s/70s vibes here too. I can imagine this being the soundtrack to a movie set in NYC in the 70s.

Pretty good album by this good band!

Favorites: John Barleycorn (Must Die), I Just Want You to Know Glad: Effectively conveys the mood it describes, quite jazzy, a bit too long - 0.25 Freedom Rider: Flutes, piano, and sax all make for an interesting jazzy composition - 0.75 Empty Pages: CCR meets soul - 1 I Just Want to Know: really good, wish it was longer - 1 Stranger to Himself: Eagles “desperado” meets soul, guitar kills it - 1 John Barleycorn: very folk rock - 1 Every Mother’s Son: Good, but too long - 0.25 Sittin Here Thinkin’ of My Love: Love the bass guitar in this song - 0.75 Total: 6/8

Really nice album, enjoyed this a lot

this was decent, bopped it all day

Really enjoyed it. Nice and relaxing album

Nicht gut für einen Workout geeignet. Die Orgel gibt dem ganzen einen besonderen Flair, auch wenn ich es dadurch nicht jederzeit ertragen würde. Gefällt mir aber sehr gut! Viele stimmige bodenständige Soloeinlagen und ein stimmige Stimme. John Barleycorn hat es mir angetan. Zuerst dachte ich es sei ein Outlaw-Western-Ding, aber dann waren immer mehr Leute involviert, Reincarnation und einige der „Bestrafungen“, die ich verstanden hatte, waren sehr brutal. Was ist da los? Nachdem ich die Lyrics gelesen habe, geht es höchstwahrscheinlich um Alkohol, vielleicht der Wunsch nach Abstinenz? Lustige Reise!

muito, muito bom! Vários sons em harmonia, lindeza

Underrated tunes on this album

Very jazzy, love the instrumental opening track

Heureux d'être content

I like Steve WInwood's work with Traffic; this one I hadn't heard. It's a good listen, a melange of folk-rock, jazz, Olde Countrye storytelling. Winwood's solo career patterns Phil Collins' - they were way less interesting on their own. Not my usual fare, but it's better than anything Jethro Tull could ever touch.

01) Glad - 6,5 02) Freedom Rider - 6,5 03) Empty Pages - 6,5 04) Stranger to Himself - 6,5 05) John Barleycorn (Must Die) - 6,5 06) Every Mother's Son - 6,0 TOTAL: 6,42 (64/100) Current ranking: 676/969

영화노래 같다

My theory always was that Winwood is what made Blind Faith cooler than Clapton’s other bands. My theory was correct.

legal

Ni ahi lo mio. Por suerte no tan largo Nota: 2.8

I don’t think John deserved all of that

Well yeah, everyone must at some point.

31/06/2026 I am running out of things to say for these bang average albums. But bang average. Spotify listeners: 859.5k

6/10 - The music was pleasant and kind of jammy. Not a style that I would frequent but if I found this in the $5 crate at a record store I would grab it.

Not really a prog fan but found this pleasant and I like the flute in the songs. 6/10

I did not particularly like the Steve Winwood album on here, but this is more interesting, if pretty indulgent. There's some folk rock, jazz, prog, and a little funk. It's pretty pleasant, but doesn't feel especially unique. The songs also feel a little more flash than substance at times. But the effect isn't distracting enough to make me dislike the album. Although, I will say that my favorite song here is John Barleycorn, which is a more straightforward folk song that really puts the writing at the forefront. Like I said, the cumulative effect of this is fairly enjoyable, but it's a little frustrating that it feels like their prog influence occasionally gets in the way of the songwriting. But this does still get a 3, even if it's kind of a shaky one.

After getting past the first tune - which I unfortunately associate with low budget 80s stand up comedy specials - the rest of the album was better than I expected.

John Barleycorn and I don't care, John Barleycorn and I don't care ... no really, its not bad. I thought it would be more of a classic ... didn't love it didn't hate it. At least it was shorter than that Stephen Stills album.

Borderline 2 for me. Shit is low key annoying

At no point while listening to this did the thought "I MUST share this with somebody!" cross my mind. Even when trying to contextualize it for its time, I'm still not really excited about anything here. It's fine in some ways, but not something I need to come back to.

I was a fan. I really liked Freedom Rider it had quite a good groove to it. Short-ish album too which was nice so I didn’t have to listen to the same thing for an hour. I liked the Flutey parts in John Barleycorn.

John Barleycorn you serve ZERO purpose. You should kill yourself NOW. It’s a weird album this is very piano and organ heavy but on the other side it’s got a jazzy sax that I appreciate a lot. It’s a prog folk album that has a great set of drums on it and a good flow through the songs. That’s kinda it it’s just a good collection of songs nothing like mind blowing just some good shit. I will add that I dig the piano on here heavy though like it’s always consistently providing a good backing to whatever song they need it on so good job well used piano there twin.

This really should have spoken to me. Generally, I love the genre and sound. But it just really didn’t hit home for me. It’s really good musically, but I didn’t feel like the songwriting was very good. Felt like a lot of noodling with some very uninspired vocal melodies.

5/10 It always makes me nervous when an album is more successful in the US than in the UK, and nevermore so than when it is a British artist. So, as expected, this was far from great - meandering and jazzy and a bit rubbish. Should be a 2, but a song near the end perked it up a bit and it wasn't unlistenable.

esperaba algo totalmente diferente, me gusto

fun, catchy. the sax & flute were my favorites. organ p cool too. i know this is weird and the album's great and all, but as i was listening, i just got this feeling of .. not really caring? high 3.

This album is probably not as special as other albums of similar style that I've heard going through the 1001 album list. But, honestly, I'm always down for this type of music. I'd say the first half was better, though. I enjoyed it. 3.5/5

One thing I've learned from this project is that music in the 60s kind of sucked. This isn't so bad, but it doesn't particularly move me

636/1001 2026.06.15 🌕🌕🌗🌑🌑

The jammy style of this album makes it easy to put it on in the background, but it’s not something that demands your attention with crafted melodies.

Preferred the first half

I mean it’s reasonable pleasant jamming and nicely played but found it pretty boring and didn’t compare that well to The Allman Brothers, maybe unfair to compare but it’s two jamming albums that have come up in quick succession. Nicely played but nothing more than that. Weak 3.

Bit of a shift on from their last album, still blending a bunch of influences, but away from psychedelia towards a more jazz funk easy listening bluesy folk rock kinda thing. But like the other album, it's interesting enough, and listenable, while never straying near anything great.

Thought this started strong with the jazz-influenced opening track, but found that as it went on the album felt more and more like a fairly trad 70s rock album. The musicianship is decent but I found myself wondering what makes these guys any more or less interesting or distinctive than their peers.

Pretty decent. High 3

Nice album! Though I can't explain why, I think it suffers a bit from the problem that each song blends into each other. I had a hard time distinguish them from each other. But I really enjoyed having it in the background when working. Got me in a good mood. Strong 3!

An interesting prog rock album. Not totally sure I love this, but I can respect its musical ability. Not sure also I'll go back. 3/5, high 3 though.

# Album Name: John Barleycorn Must Die # Artist: Traffic # Rating: 3/5 # Comments: Not a bad listen. Could be a grower. But for now its just alright # Top Tunes: # Would I listen to it again? Maybe

A lovely album from a superb band headed by Steve Winwood.

Some fine folk music, for those folk that like their music folky.

Ah the limitations of marking out of 5. It's average, it's 5/10 but 3/5 is too much and 2/5 seems harsh. It's a 3 then.

I’ve heard this before. I appreciate they have a flute player, rock should incorporate flute and other instruments that don’t appear to rock more often. Steve Winwood’s voice has always irritated me, but it doesn’t seem as bad as in his 80s solo songs here. His keyboard sound makes up for that. The songs are mostly good and everyone plays real well, but there is a lot of aimless jamming filling out the songs. That said, the songs are short enough that the aimless jamming doesn’t go on forever, and the album is short enough that the aimless jamming doesn’t take over the album. Altogether solid classic rock.

Spoiler alert! He doesn't die. In fact, he's not really even on this album.

One or two good songs. One or two boring

Unremarkable, but not offensive to listen to while I was working.

I do like Winwood's work, but this was mostly seen in bands where he's the 4th most interesting character. Great pianist, brilliant arranger, patchy lyrics if this is anything to go by. It was fine. I'd listen again with a fat zoot.

what did he do?

Always had a bit of a soft spot for this album as I heard it a lot in my teens (despite being a teen in the 80s and 90s)

Legendary band, legendary album/title, but I know very little about them or any of these songs. Great piano intro on "Glad", then it got way jazzy, but that piano groove is so nice! I liked "Freedom Rider", very classic rock-ish. "Empty Pages" I know from the radio and would consider it the blueprint for his solo work a decade in the future (see Arc Of A Diver). The folky title track didn't hit the mark for me. Highlight: some good 70's guitar grooves ("Stranger To Himself" & "Every Mother's Son". I love Winwood and his voice, it's interesting to see his growth from Spencer Davis to Traffic to his platinum solo albums. Decent album but nothing groundbreaking on this one, one or two fringe radio songs. 3 stars.

Pretty OK.

A mashup of basically every subgenre of rock and roll that was popular in the late 60s. Well performed but not much for me to write home about.

I thought this was fine, but I’m hard pressed to think of much of anything to say about it. Some jazz rock fusion that was nice to listen to, but unremarkable.

I don't believe I needed to hear this before I died.

I wanted to like this more than I did. I saw multiple reviewers making Steely Dan comparisons, but the difference with Steely Dan is that their prodigious skills were in service of fantastic songs. This albums instead has mostly mid songs performed really well.

Ωραίο άκουσμα. Κοντά στα γούστα μου γενικώς, απλώς νιώθω ότι δεν έχει το κάτι ξεχωριστό για να γίνει πολύ καλό Empty Pages

It grabbed me pretty early on, but unfortunately lost me just as quickly

Pretty decent folksy sounding soft rock. Good uses of harmonized vocals, flutes, and acoustic guitars, plus I always like music that tells a story. But overall I can't think of why this is considered a must hear album as it didn't really do anything that truly makes it stand out. 3/5

again not for me but listenable!!

Rip

Sorta like a jazzy, hippie album

This is where my brief 4+ star album streak ends. The instrumental at the beginning was nice, and so was "John Barleycorn Must Die", the title track. It turns out the latter track was an old folk song, which happens to be better than most of the album it gives its name to. Everything else on "John Barleycorn Must Die" was your acceptable early 70s filler. For a band with a good reputation like Traffic, I was left mildly disappointed. 3 stars for "John Barleycorn Must Die".

not entirely my vibe but listening at work and it's not distracting

Jazz/Latin/Folk/Blues is a thing yeah? Well it certainly is on this album. I’m a huge fan of the folk/flute end of traffic and the title track is an absolute classic, the rest of the album doesn’t reach that high standard but this is sixties psych folk at its best

Me gustó. Buen álbum. Buena guitarra y muy buena armonía con la flauta y demás.

estuvo ok, los temas ahí bastante largos y el de john barleycorn la vdd no me gustó y ya como que en general no me gustó tanto

Didn’t hate it but never want to listen again

Enjoyed this

Freedom Rider— JAZZ FLUTE

That flute.

This one was much better than the self titled.

It’s okay.

classic acid rock, jazz infused jams on this thing, the flute guy gives some dimension to it great tracks but nothing that stands out over the rest, kind of lost in the jamming while still being the most interesting part of the record

Does feel like we’ve had numerous albums that sound like this. Not unpleasant though.

3/5

Very fun and entertaining while I was listening, can't wait to forget it instantly

2.5

it was fine. i really liked the first track

6/10

There's a few really cool songs on here, but also some that were just okay. A fairly decent listening experience.

Pretty good. I think it would’ve been better as an instrumental album, but the singing was ok. 3.5/5

I do not know who John Barleycorn is and why he must die. It's smooth prog rock, lending itself to be more jazz based with the prominence of the sax and flute all throughout. Likely a result of former guitarist Dave Mason leaving the group prior to this album. Steve Winwood steps up and provides vocals for most of the album, showcasing the talent that he would display in his later solo endeavors. All in all, it's a slightly unique take on the prog rock sound that was everywhere at the time. Didn't really get me going, however.

This one is quite boring to my ears... Just like the 1969 Traffic album this doesn't really move me in any way. The vocals are just not that good. I found myself enjoy the instrumental parts of songs more than the parts of the songs where it has vocals. Though however when he is singing yearnfully, those parts are good. Another good thing I can think of is the tone, which I enjoyed a lot. Highlight Song/s: "Every Mother's Son"

- Enjoyable but not overly memorable

fav songs: empty pages flat, forgettable, samey 50/100

Didn't hate this, but certainly never going to revisit this in my lifetime.

Love his voice and their music - just not ALL of it.

Was writing the review in my head while I checked the previous traffic album I remembered we had, and both reviews were nearly identical. Decent American rock, terrible pan pipe sections. Think the good songs here were genuinely good as opposed to just influential but really either of these albums tells you all you need to know about Traffic.

This was a pretty good poppy blues type thing. I think I remember preferring the previous album of theirs that we had though. Nothing blew me away 3

Nice and chill.

Notable Lyrics: Struggling with confusion Disillusionment too Can turn a man into a shadow Crying out from pain Es gibt sehr viel Musik aus dieser Zeit die sich sehr ähnelt. 36 Minuten und 6 Songs ist auch wirklich kurz für ein Album. Ich finde aber, dass ganze hat einen guten Groove, solange es nicht zu viel Flöte in den Instrumentals sind komme ich damit auch gut klar. Es gibt wenig was mich stört, aber auch wenig das mich begeistert. Wenn es eines der ersten Alben dieser Art wäre die ich gehört hätte wäre das vermutlich anders. Aber so bleibt es bei unterem Mittelfeld. Gerade noch 3.

Yeah fine I guess

Decent album. Keys are played very well. Overall, pretty good. 3/5 Might listen again

70’s

Decent. Title track was highlight.

Pretty good but not my vibe. Could be fun on a roadtrip in the west

Musically good, but somehow the mix is off and it feels so boxy to me that it was not comfortable to listen to. Song wise, sort of generally poetic and standard fare for the era. I would give this a 4 if the technical production was better.

Album #95 Traffic: John Barleycorn Must Die I’m amazed that this band has somehow evaded my awareness until now, since 70s piano-led prog-rock is something that I am quite a big fan of. My ignorance stretches further to only knowing of Steve Winwood because of his 80s pop solo-career, which he hit it mainstream with songs like “Higher Love”, which I actually found through Grand Theft Auto 5, and goes hard as fuck; as well as his playing on one of the greatest albums of all-time, “Colour of Spring” by Talk Talk. I guess it is sort of like only knowing Peter Gabriel for ‘Sledgehammer’ and not Genesis, or even only knowing Phil Collins for ‘In The Air Tonight’ and not, well, Genesis. I guess there is a theme of prog-rock band members going in a more mainstream pop direction in the 80s, and now I’m sad that we don’t live in a timeline where Rick Davies from Supertramp didn’t have a number one pop hit (Rodger Hodgson, however, did go in this direction to relative success). Now I can’t judge Traffic’s entire catalogue based on one album, but I don’t think they are quite at the level of Genesis or Supertramp; then again, not many are, but they are certainly not too far behind, as this album was quite good. I was satisfactorily entertained by every song, but when the track “John Barleycorn” came on, this album went from being good to great. It's definitely going to be a song that stays in my rotation for some time. I can see people being bored by this era of British rock, and I do think that this sound has not been as influential as a lot of stuff that came out later in the 70s that still has a chokehold on modern music (punk, gothic, post-punk) so people may not be as receptive to it, but since I grew up on bands like Supertramp, this is definitely up my alley. Going to have to check out more for sure, as well as the group Blind Faith, which I discovered contains Winwood as well as Eric Clapton, can’t tell if that is either going to be brilliant or too pretentious even for me. Best Songs: John Barleycorn, Empty Pages, Every Mother’s Son Worst Song: Stranger to Himself Score out of 10: 7.5

This was played a lot in my family hike when I grew up. Sentimental listening but not one of my favourites.

I'm mostly familiar with Traffic's later singles, so this sounded nothing like I expected. This is a pretty good rock album and one I would definitely want to revisit. 3/5

Traffic wasn’t really on my radar before this listen so my initial impression was driven by the album cover. I expected less jazz and more folk -- but I am not complaining. I like the instrumental sections and the jam vibe. The album is described as the band’s most exploratory and I think that’s a good thing. It’s exploratory in the “finding hidden gems” sense and not in the “lost explorer on the wrong continent” sense. 🪈 I loved hearing the flute get special treatment especially on “Freedom Rider”. I would give this 3.5 stars. I would be happy to listen to it again in its entirety in a playlist. I likely won’t seek it out.

For progressive rock, this was a lot jazzier and bluesy than I was expecting, which to be clear, is not a bad thing; I sometimes struggle with the approachability of progressive rock, and these factors made this album a lot more enjoyable for me! I also love an album that has a good hook in the artwork or title, and "John Barleycorn Must Die" definitely stuck the landing in terms of intrigue. The title song itself, derived from a traditional folk song, heavily utilizes that same traditional folk sound in the 1970s, reminiscent of Fairport Convention. Though the traditional folk sound is most prevalent on this song, it can be heard in minor ways across some of the other songs on the album. It sounds like this album was a defining moment for Traffic in terms of loosening up their style a little bit. And in my opinion, the results were positive.

Couple cool songs

Solid 70s Chicago/Tulll vibe. Good dog-walking album

I enjoyed the listen. I will forget all about it in a week. Nothing spectacular about it. Good enough.

I like it

I continue to not be very into prog rock

The grooves were pretty good. The flute on Freedom Rider was awesome. I really liked the rendition of the classic John Barleycorn song too. I rarely stay fully invested all the way through this kind of prog album. The ones that stand out are really great but this one was just alright to me.

Surprisingly soulful and groovy for prog. Pretty good stuff Fav tracks: Glad, Empty Pages

Now I know more about Traffic thanks to this list. There was an 80s sitcom - maybe Dear John starring Judd Hirsch? - in which a character said he was late because "I was stuck in Traffic longer than Steve Winwood." Sadly that's the first thing that always comes to mind when Traffic comes up.

Took me a few listens, but eventually it got under my skin. Loved most of the tracks.

Much like the other Traffic album I've rated on here, it was kind of bland, a bit too MOR for me, and Steve Winwood seemed to really love the spotlight. Some of the long jams felt like 70s background music, a bit cheesy even. At first, it just seemed like a meh, transitional album, missing the catchy tunes of their earlier stuff. But, once I gave it a chance, the vibes were, dare I say, was surprisingly cool. They mixed Jazz, Folk, and Rock in a unique way, especially with the flute and organ. Some songs got a little repetitive, but "John Barleycorn" was amazing, a beautiful take on folklore. It's not going to blow anyone's mind, but it's a chill, solid listen if you just let the band's jamming wash over you.

Listened Before? N Pretty good jam-bandy stuff. I like his voice. Added to Library? N Songs added to playlist: Empty Pages

I don’t hate it, but I also find it a little tough to get too jazzed about this record. It feels like vaguely jam bandy nonsense. And, while Jethro Tull has opened my eyes to the badassery of flute rock, I’m not sure I’m into all the flutes here. Like I said, this isnt terrible or anything, but I doubt I’ll be revisiting it. 6/10

This didn't grab me until John Barleycorn. The first song sounded like an extended version of a 70s sitcom theme. Low 3.

This sounds like three different albums. The first two tracks which combine jazz and English folk rock probably jumped out for me the most. Overall this is a very high 3 (possibly warrants a 4)

Rich in textures. Early progressive with jazz, folk and blues overtones.

I’m actually surprised today’s album isn’t doing much for me, it’s my kind of genre but I’m finding it’s not landing with me, some cool parts and a decent enough listen but nothing more - low 3, last track almost pulled it up to mid 3 but not quite

Hyvin urkupitoista progehtavaa rockia. Kevyttä kuunneltavaa.

Mukavan kuulosta, vähän vaan hämmentävä soulin ja psykerokin yhdistelmä - välillä mentiin toisessa päässä ja välillä toisessa. Löyty kans joku folkkibiisi välistä.

Hade denna som bakgrundsmusik när jag skrev. Den var en skön matta men gjorde inget större intryck. Trea

Less offensive than the other stuff on this list that sounds exactly like this

I mean……why

Like it 3/5

7 / 10

No surprise this started off as Steve Winwood’s first solo album; his powerful vocals and keyboard/organ-playing dominate the album, and he played all the guitars too. There’s also a healthy dose of jazzy flute (à la Jethro Tull). This is a textbook 3-star album for me; every track was perfectly pleasant/listenable, but none were really mind-blowing. Side two was certainly the stronger half: ‘Stranger to Himself’ was a fun country/folk-inflected track, the title track was a good bit of straight-up British folk-rock, and the closer was a pretty decent rocker. Overall, a reasonably good early prog-rock album.

It's fine. Sounds like 1970.

solid 3

Me gusto el disco por su inclinación al Jazz fusión, Jazz rock/folk. Creo que la ejecución de cada instrumento es muy buena y la voz es excelente. En general creo que es un disco que cumple y sin duda podría volver a escucharlo. Aun así no se me hizo un gran disco, simplemente un buen disco. Ninguna canción se me hizo más memorable que otra.

Pretty basic rock album nothing to write home about lol

This album was hard to pin down for the first few tracks. Jazz/Rock fusion? I wasn’t sure how I felt about it, but it certainly held my interest. But the back half was not nearly as dynamic or adventurous and the song writing failed to keep me engaged.

I appreciate the exploratory energy of this album and in general it's successful in its execution, with one big exception - the sax parts, which sound like they are played by a junior high kid who just picked up the instrument. Honestly, congrats to that kid. He's doing a great job, but I think this album requires more jazz mastery and less 'baa baa black sheep'-style solos. The songs are not really there but there’s some good stuff. It’s the ‘folk’ part of the jazz-rock-folk hybrid that’s not working, in my opinion. But the album still succeeds on its own terms- we’re here for Winwood's pipes, which are in fine form and for the grooves, which aren’t in short supply. The production is clean and the drum sound in particular is really sharp.

Where the fuck did that last song come from? Damn. 3.5

Kind of boring….2.75

Alright, this is pretty decent, nice keyboard work and instrumentation, however it's not super great either, probably very strong 3 stars for this, lacking a bit for me. But today is busy, and maybe I'll find some time to re-listen later on this eve. Def at least 3.5/5.0 on RYM

Bell'album, mi ha gasato abbastanza soprattutto le prime tracce

I enjoyed this much more than I thought I would based on a scan of the reviews.

My dad used to have this album, but for wharever reason I never listened to it although I always thought the cover was cool. It kind of sits between British folk rock and prog, which makes it more tolerable than either genre on it's own. Not my favorite thing in the world, but I always liked Steve Winwood's voice and piano playing. Highlights for me were "Empty Pages" and "Every Mother's Son". 3.5 stars.

3.5

Must John Barleycorn die? I’m not seeing a compelling case here. Their next album Low Spark Of High Heeled Boys is a more 1001-worthy candidate with better art and more inventive packaging although do check out Toto’s Steve Lukather’s definitive version of the title track from 2021.

Yummy!

In a word, twangly. In two words, very seventies. In the field of ‘Must Die’ works, this ranks above ‘John Tucker Must Die’ and probably ‘Romeo Must Die’ but below ‘Invaders Must Die’.

The title track is stellar. But a lot of the album sounds like it could’ve been the soundtrack to a middling 1970-era sitcom. Steve Winwood’s inviting vocals can’t really make up for the instrumental void.

This was fine. A bit too much flute for my liking. Whatever, take your weak 3*. 2.75/5

Fun little album, nothing spectacular. Nice background music, I guess. 7 / 10

Traffic switch gears on this album which has more folk/jazz elements with extended instrumental on many of the songs. Windwood's voice on fine form too. Not a bad LP.

Bit much of a jam session for my taste.

En ollut aiemmin kuunnellut Trafficia. Ihan hyvää jazzahtavaa progea.

NIce easy listen

pretty standard jazz rock. its good but a bit forgettable

Bra musik, svängigt, vet inte riktigt vad som som inte får det att funka för mig.

im having a hard time placing this. If anything, its what I assumed adults listened to when I was a child. It's not terrible, but not my vibe.

A little dad rock-y, but the instrumentals were amazing on this one. Still by the end, it's a strong 3 and not a 4

Did not like this one at all. Maybe a good album but just not to my taste.

Really enjoyed the title track. Over the years I've become a bit of a Steve Winwood fangirl. 3.5, rounded down because I don't like long bouts of instrumental jamming.

The album that asks (like Jethro Tull some weeks ago), does the flute belong in this type of music. The answer, for me, is no. It feels out of place and conjures images of small woodland creatures prancing and frolicking on stage. There's just something about it that doesn't work. I realize Arcade Fire gets away with unusual or old-timey instruments but in those instances they feel natural there. In the case of this album several tunes are jamming along and then the flute out of nowhere starts riding on top. I was initially a 2 on this. On 2nd listen, with my wife in the car, she convinced me that perhaps I was being too harsh. Think about it like grades in school - its like a C and therefore a 3. I'd still argue 2.5 at best but ok. 3/5.

Yeah it’s good

I have no thoughts. 2.5/5

astonishingly unremarkable jazzy folk rock, steve winwood continues to baffle me with his sustained success

Not bad at all, although I wish more songs were in the likeness of the album opener and less folky flutey Jethro Tullly.

What a beautiful and great listen all around will definitely revisit this one.

Better than I thought it would be

Decent enough.

Steve Winwood is a legendary musician proven from the Spencer Davis Group, Blind Faith, and then Traffic. I started really enjoying Traffic a while ago, especially with Mr. Fantasy, which was a great album. This album has elements of that classic rock sound, with songs like every mother‘s son. But other songs like John Barleycorn Must Die and the song Glad I feel like they took the off-ramp into flute land that just didn’t grab me. Some of the live tracks on the deluxe version show the power and talent of the band but those wouldn’t have been on the original release. Overall, this album is solidly OK, but compared to Traffic’s initial albums, is slowing for yield signs.

Random thoughts: * I liked this one enough to listen to it twice. * This did make me look up what John Barleycorn was about. I heard the name before and remember a bar in Chicago called John Barleycorn's. Turns out its about alcohol! Surprised I didn't know this before. * Anyway, the music was alright but I was way more interested in learning about John Barleycorn but I did enjoy the jazziness and expanded musical palatte.

Lots of instruments lots going on The start of the album is quite different to the end

Normally when I have relatively quick repeats of a band I don’t care much for, I punish the second one out of annoyance. New year new me. I liked this one a bit better than the other and I don’t care who knows it!

Wasn't familiar with, but it was some nice sounding easy rock.

I bought this album used years ago and sold it back awhile later because it didn’t stick. I didn’t expect much. It exceeded my expectations. I like the instrumental they open with. Winwood has a nice voice and the drummer is good. There are also not a ton of tracks that have deep hooks.

-i liked this a lot more than their self-titled, which was the only thing i’d heard by this band up until this point. some very good early prog rock -i think Steve Winwood is pretty talented as an artist, i’d like to listen to more of his stuff at some point -Favorites: Glad, Stranger To Himself

Lots of jazz flute

Fun beats, easy listening, nothing stood out to me too much.

This was better than I thought it would be. The first song was what I think when I hear Traffic, but the next few songs were suprising. I didn't realize these were british progressive guys and not a part of the yacht rock soft jazz. I don't think its really something I would listen to, but I won't shudder every time I hear this bands name anymore.

Don’t really have a strong opinion on this one. It was fine, but I have no desire to listen to this again.

It was fine

Not bad overall

Always live some Traffic. Not their best, but a few great ones. Great instrumental opening song. 3.75

A fine enough rock album with some jazz ideas. Solid enough musicianship but nothing that knocked me over. I’m about as down the middle on this as I can get. The remaster does sound fantastic though.

5.5/10

I dug this one. Had my head bobbing more than once. Not a full 4, but could grow to being one

Pretty good, just not really my thing. I tended to zone out a lot.

Another album where people jam out with a flute :-) I like the sax groove and chord progression in Freedom Rider. The album has a mix of funk and 70's rock sound. It also has a bit of Celtic sounds like in John Barleycorn. This is a high 3 for me - I could see it rising with more listens.

Could maybe argue this is a 4 star, just based on the fact that similar albums tend to be overlong jam sessions and this clocks in at a mere 34 minutes.

A rare instance of the instrumental opener being stronger than the tracks with vocals. Really liked 'Glad' but the rest felt very 70s blues/rock - maybe slightly better than average but nothing to really blow my hair back.

Hmm. Yeah, I'm thinking this is gonna be a proto-punk album based on the title and bandname, though 1970 feels like its too early for the genre. What else do I have. Folk? I think I'll go with folk. Oh, joy. A thirty-minuter. I've been needing one of these lately. I was pretty off with my prediction. I shoulda doubled down on the influences of punk rather than pivoting to a completely different genre. Anyways, this is fine. I can appreciate kicking back and spacing out to something which is just competent and inoffensive every once in a while. There's a good spread of styles and sounds on this album. A good level of variety in the instrumentation department, too. The vocals aren't to my liking, though this album is mostly instrumental and therefore works perfectly for me. "Glad" features my beloved cowbell. Always a favourite of mine. I wasn't listening to the music too intently, but I appreciated the relaxed sound - especially during the second half of the song. "Freedom Rider" is a good follow-up. Some pretty robust instrumentation. I like the pan flute and the cool, bassy sound. The jumpy piano and organ numbers are also pretty good. "John Barleycorn" Book time. The band was successful throughout the 60s, though the rest of the entry is a whole lot of wank. Wikipedia says that the album performed well on both sides of the Atlantic. Apparently the critical backing for this album has waned in the decades since release. Yeah, this probably doesn't deserve it's place on the list, though I'm too relaxed right now to engage in the whole thinking about a replacement thing. I cosign this inclusion.

Decent prog/psych. One is not always in a mood for that type of music, especially when hangover. I probably need to come back later. Three stars for now.

prog normalito pero ala qué título tan duro

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I liked this but it did just breeze by and has left no lasting impression

I enjoyed this enough to like it and want to listen again but evidently I need to listen again because I can’t remember enough about it other than it was very close to getting 4 stars. At times a bit soulful, jazzy, bluesy and the title track a departure from all that into folk. Good stuff.

Not a particularly memorable album. Definitely a chill album to listen to but not something I would listen to on the daily.

Did we need two Traffic albums and a Steve Winwood album in this book? Absolutely not. I am not a Steve Winwood hater and I moderately enjoy his music and the music of Traffic. There just is not something "essential" about having two Traffic albums on here. This is excellent music to clean the house to. It's difficult to object to it, unless you have a propensity for disgust against the flute or other wind instruments. Did we need this? Probably not. Given the choice between this one and their self-titled album, then I would put John Barleycorn Must Die in the book. It's the better album. There are only six songs on here, with one of them being an instrumental. It's hard to pick favorites based solely on that fact. I have a collection of Traffic songs but I cannot recommend an entire album over a choice selection of their good songs.

Another nothing burger again. Been alot lately. Its fine. Its enough. But not enough to do much for me. It exists and im chill with that. If you like it amazing. I wish I had ur brain.

Pleasant but nothing standouts

Aite

You know...first track you got this 7 minute long instrumental with blues, rock, gospel, funk elements that I really enjoyed. Then second track you get hit with very mid-vocals. The instrumentation remained great though.

Why r these so long songs. Glad sounds like a movie soundtrack and very much gospel music. I actually really enjoy this track. Freedom Rider was pretty vibey. Weird sax take at one point in the song, you’d think they’d try for a better take, like it audibly sounded like a fuck up or missed notes lol. But whatever. John Barleycorn sounds like a wannabe Led Zeppelin song so bad, down to the flute. This came out after Led Zeppelin as well, but this sounds specifically like stairway which came out after. Hmmm. The rest of the album was pretty tight and doing its own funky soul thing till this song came on. Feels like the first two songs on the album are a different artist. Overall, not a bad listen but nothing special blowing my mind. 3.5/5

Doesn't surprise me this charted well in the states. Feels to me like they're mimicking almost directly the US genres of the time- despite being british. I wouldn't have guessed this was a British band, usually you can tell. Mostly by the grabby little fingers, for thieving of cultural treasures. I kid. Sorta. But yeah, guitar riffs and vocal stylings straight out of the states in most of the tunes. They finally reveal their britishness on the second to last song of the record, they tried to hide it from us. The sneaky poms. But we found out in the end. The record is all good. Fun, with a good amount of soul and rhythm. But it feels to me pretty unremarkable. The woodwind instruments are a nice touch. There are many black artists of this era in the states you could listen to instead, who bring unique offerings to the table. Interestingly it was mixed and mastered by the same guy who mixed London Calling, Guy Stevens. Man he blew out and clipped the bass hard on Empty Pages, my lord. Odd tone shift on the last song, I wonder if its some sort of running motif or story? Honestly I'm not interested or curious enough about this album to try find out Would've been a 2.5, but I liked the last song. 3

I've never listened to this album (59). First song is great! The rest is ok.

Alright jam jazz rock

This starts well enough, then descends into keyboard hell. Way too much jazz influence for me. One brilliant song, that's how I remember it. Still just the one.

Nice to listen to start to finish

At first I thought I was going to really enjoy this album. By the end I was bored. It wasn't bad, I guess I was just expecting better.

3.5/5

Eh. Inoffensive and bland

This was ok 70s rock. Nothijg groundbreaking.

I enjoyed the flute, but honestly there wasn't enough variation on the album for me. This album did lead me to look into Steve Winwood more though, so that's a plus.

Very inattentive listening to this one due to a late night before. Can’t really tell you if anything stood out.

To have been a 70’s stoner. Very psychedelic. Not bad.

Too much parping for my tastes but otherwise good.

Didn't love this. Just not my jam. But respect, I guess.

Enjoyed this. Probably 3.5

Listening conditions - Thursday afternoon in the office, Sony headphones on. Albums First Rodeo? - Yep Stand Out Tracks - "Freedom Rider' was cool, and maybe familiar. "Stranger to Himself" this is groovy, I reminds me of something else - baby you're rich man. Misses - "Every mother's sun" too long for no reason, felt a bit try hard. Final Thoughts - Kinda cool, not sure if I'd really seek this out again, not great not terrible, kinda cool, but not sure how much I care for it. First half is pretty alright.

Interesting title for a not very interesting album

Autant écoutable qu'oubliable. 2.75 étoiles

Super solid. Was John Tucket Must Die a reference to this?

not actually that funny but just interesting that the chicago album had a cover of a song that Steve Winwood wrote on it and the next day we got a Traffic album... Steve Winwood's band... it really is a small world afterall

I don't know what that album was about, but I did like the way it sounded.

This is like the dictionary definition of 70s rock.

3 out of 5 Tons of great songs but some are so so. Still a great band

Its good working background music. Long tracks that all build on one another. I'll add it to my work album list when I'm doing spreadsheets.

1 stern

Ihan solidi rokkilevy vähän erikoisilla twisteillä. Ei mitään mullistavaa eikä tältäkään levyltä oikein mikään biisi jäänyt mieleen

Nooooh, periaatteessa ihan jees, mut ei kyllä tarjoa mitään ihmeellisyyksiä. Taustamusana meni. Nysäkullin kokoinen peukku lyhyestä kestosta

Kyllähän tämän läpi kuunteli, muutamia ihan kivoja kuljetuksiakin löytyi. Selkee kolkki.

Ihan kivaa rokkii, jossa on vähän progee ja jatsii. Tuntuu, että monessa veisussa on aika paljon jamittelua lyöty narulle. Bonusta tosta puhallinhommasta. Montaa puhkujaa tuntu olevan matkassa. Vois tätä varmaan vapaaehtosestikin kuunnella, mutta ei nyt mitään kauheen superihkuu tavaraa. Iso kolmonen pöytään.

Ekan biisin kohdalla tuli spontaanit "voi helvetti" -ajatukset, mutta sitten kyllä meno parani huomattavasti. Ihan ehtaa 70-lukua soundeiltaan, välillä tuli mieleen että Saimaa on paljonkin velkaa tälle bändille. Ihan hyviä biisejä, mutta ei mitään mestariteoksia. Kivaa kuunneltavaa joka tapauksessa.

tidy album overall, wasn’t too bad

Interesting

Good musicians but not my taste.

Flute rocked. Making Ron Burgundy proud. Solid album. Not sure I’ll revisit

Kinda fun but a little repetitive and I still don’t like Steve winwoods guitar playing

some redeemable qualities

This is not my flavor of jazz rock. Musicality is phenomenal, but eh. Dan does it better.

This is pretty good you know. Apart from the odd track that goes a bit prog, this has a real cool vibe. I'm liking the instruments and his singing in general. And it's nice and short. 3.5 rounded down.

Musically, this is a brilliant album. Glad is nice Lil improvised piece that goes to some trippy places. Stranger in his Mind is best song by far & Empty Pages is alright. Some of the songs go a bit long but I never felt bored. I may have to actually read the lyrics to John Barleycorn to figure out why he must die but if I didn't care while listening, it must not be that intriguing. 3

V/rv

I liked this rock and roll 🎸 album 💿

I’ve been sick this week so this review is short and sharp. I thought it was okay.

English folky The Band

The Good: An entire album dedicated about beer! The Bad: The artists believe beer must die… The Ugly: Traffic… I really wanted to like this album. Not because I like beer, which I do, but because I appreciate Mr Windwood’s efforts. Anyway, early ‘70s fusion jazz, so it seems, is not my thing… unless it is done by Jethro Tull… which Traffic isn’t. Having said that, I will still give the album 3* as it is worthy of a spin, just not on repeat spin…. 3*

Ok

Pretty decent. Chill and quite summery. We may return to this one.

Liked the music, didn’t like the singers voice. Though it seemed to fit in better on the folkier tune. I guess that’s the sort of music that this sort of reedy English voice fits best into!

Groupe inconnu. L'album commence bien avec un morceau instrumental très jazz/rock (+1), agrémenté de chorus variés et réussis, et dont l'ambiance évolue entre le début et la fin. Le second morceau ajoute du chant (dommage, j'aime vraiment les instrumentaux) mais l'harmonie reste audacieuse et les chorus intéressants (+1). Le 3eme morceau baisse un peu, mais est encore écoutable. La face 2 est plutôt décevante, en particulier 'John Barleycorn (Must Die)' (folk sans intérêt). Dommage ! Ceci dit je vais m'intéresser aux autres album de ce groupe. =>3/5

Um, I guess it was interesting to have an instrumental album for a change, but it wasn't one I'd listen to again, a bit too jazzy maybe.

It was solid and steady English rock but nothing stood out

Folkkista rokkia, mutta ei varmaan ihan folk rokkia kummiskaan. Ihan ok energia ja muuteskin ok. Parhaat: Ei erityisiä poimintoja

It's not really my kind of prog rock, still sort of impressive though

Kind of fun, not anything particularly interesting about it.

Helt ok

Didn't love it, didn't hate it. Some interesting musical choices and direction. Occasionally folk, jazz, blues as it went. I'd say it was better than it was bad, but not something I found all that great. I did enjoy it for the most part, though. Overall: 3/5

It was pretty enjoyable as passive listening. Some jazz flute and good guitar. Jam band vibes

good

An important album as Traffic was influential in that 70’s rock scene and Stevie Winwood has gone on to produce popular tracks for decades. But i have trouble w/ little Stevie’s vocal quality these days. It’s a 3 for me now.

great upbeat album to listen to on a sunday morning.

#693. Pretty standard hippie folk rock, but with the occasional flute or saxophone solos thrown in.. 3/5: fine

This was such a random album to pick. its southern rock/ Jethro Tull. Very late- 60's. very generic.

Glad John Barleycorn

Ok

Good

Musically good. Thematically silly.

3.5 really

Good music

So much potential but they couldn't resist the Tolkien wood rock in the end

Flute solo in freedom rider goes crazy

This album is filled with longer play tracks that sound like a jazz improv group merged with a folk rock band. The jamming sounds good, especially the first three songs--Glad, Freedom Rider and Empty Pages--which have all been in FM radio rotation for decades or more recently satellite Ch. 26 Classic Vinyl. All together a solid album from Traffic.

I don't know about this album. These guys are jamming away, and they're good at it, but I'm not sure where they're going with it half the time. The opener Glad was a great example - I can't identify the storyline in it. It starts off heavy or intense, but I felt like it was missing a starting build to that point. Then we go a couple rounds with that sound and segue into a weird, not bridge, but something else. Then it softens up and plateaus for almost 3 minutes, yet still doesn't have a clear ending - sort of abrupt close. The songs where Steve Winwood sings are better - it's like the vocals add context to the instruments, though at times it's as if Chris Wood tries too hard with the flute or sax. I don't mean the flute solo in Freedom Rider - that was good - but other times where he throws in a hard blast for seemingly no reason. Maybe I don't appreciate a good jam session but it felt meandering at times. When they stayed on point, it was solid. Every Mother's Son was excellent for the first half or so but then it went on a tangent for 2 minutes. Even if it was 5 minutes long, it would be amazing. The title track was long but that's thanks to a million verses - not meandering and pretty solid but maybe could've been a little shorter. Stranger to Himself might have been my favorite, and it's also the shortest - staying on point. It's above a 3 but I can't go with a 4.